1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is that of the control interfaces of aircraft automatic pilots.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Currently, on most aircraft, the interfaces of automatic pilots consist, as seen in FIG. 1, of control stations PC dedicated to this function. They comprise pusher control buttons BP or rotary control buttons BR and alphanumeric displays A showing the value of the various setpoints required for automatic piloting, that is to say the speed of the aircraft, its heading, its altitude and its ascent speed.
The interface operates in a simple manner. By means of the control buttons, the pilot sets the setpoints of speed, heading, altitude and climb slope, and then engages the modes of following of these setpoints.
This type of command is, however, the source of a certain number of errors with possible serious consequences for the aircraft. Thus, if the pilot sets a negative descent slope, whilst the setpoint altitude is greater than the current altitude, this causes the aircraft to perform the manoeuvre inverse to that envisaged and to follow a descent slope to the ground. When the pilot sets a heading setpoint, the pilot does not necessarily know on which side the aeroplane will turn, without knowing the current heading and viewing his position on the heading rose with respect to the setpoint heading. Of course, these errors remain rare, but they may have serious consequences.
The device according to the invention does not exhibit these drawbacks. It comprises a necessarily mere expressive graphical display of the setpoints than the display of the mere value of the setpoint. Thus the pilot more easily views the consequences of a setting on the behaviour of his aeroplane. The use of touchscreens makes it possible to facilitate interface with the system.